Female Pro Anglers: Why Not?

[gim]

1 minute ago, ol'crickety said:

I competed in one tournament (for muskies) with another woman where all the other teams were men. That was my one and done, even though we won it

 

 

[herder]

44 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

 

 

The only time I ever felt the competitive fire was when I was being kind to a guy who was in my canoe and he was catching more fish than me the first day and started bragging. Then it was game-on and I outfished him for six, straight days. My takeaway from that week wasn't to compete more, but to avoid fishing with guys like that. 

 

 

44 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

 

 

The only time I ever felt the competitive fire was when I was being kind to a guy who was in my canoe and he was catching more fish than me the first day and started bragging. Then it was game-on and I outfished him for six, straight days. My takeaway from that week wasn't to compete more, but to avoid fishing with guys like that. 

 

Edited July 24, 2024 by herder
Fat fingers

[MN Fisher]

44 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I competed in one tournament (for muskies) with another woman where all the other teams were men. That was my one and done, even though we won it

[JackstrawIII]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

There are quite a few women who are/were very successful. 

 

One I personally know is Ann Thomasson-Wilson owner of Ann's Tackle in Jasper Texas. 

Ann was a pioneer in the professional fishing ranks as the sport began to take shape in the early 1970s. In 1988 and 1989, she reached the pinnacle as she won the title of Woman’s World Bass Champion. 

 

Very cool!! Thanks for sharing. 

5 hours ago, gimruis said:

I assume the title of this should read Female Pro Anglers, not Angers (as in angry).

Haha whoops. Thanks!!

[JackstrawIII]

4 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

I am committed to fun fishing, but I'm not hardwired for competitive fishing. I wouldn't enjoy the pressure. Competing would make it less fun, not more fun.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. You are the best and most committed female angler I know, and I value your opinions greatly.

[Swamp Girl]

10 minutes ago, JackstrawIII said:

Thanks for sharing your experiences. You are the best and most committed female angler I know, and I value your opinions greatly.

 

So kind of you to write. Thanks!

[Glenn]

Strange nobody has mentioned the LBAA yet (Ladies Bass Anglers Association) - A female-only pro tournament organization.  It's been around for decades.  My wife competed in it as well as the WBA (Women's Bass Association) which was a short-lived all-female tournament organization ran by B.A.S.S.

 

Many great anglers in those organizations - Melinda Mize, who now runs marketing for Bajio sunglasses, and Pamela Marten-Wells who made it into the Classic.  Kim Bain is another outstanding pro angler that also competed in the Elites. There are many more - too many to list.

 

FTR (Fishing Tackle Retailer), which is THE fishing industry publication, is owned by Angie Thompson, who was part of the original executive team that developed the FLW Tour. She was also VP of sales for B.A.S.S.

 

Then there's Samatha Gay, a former pro angler who is still very active in the fishing industry.

 

And of course, my dear friend Carol Martens, Aaron Martens mother.  It was actually HER that was big into fishing and got Aaron into it.  The two competed for 10 years as a team, winning many championships.  Then they both competed individually and won many more tournaments and championships. I've had the pleasure of fishing with Carol several times, and she's a sunrise-to-sunset diehard angler, even in her 70's!  She has also written numerous articles for BassResource.

 

That's a start.

[WRB]

The late Aaron Martens mother Carrol was a pro bass angler in western open events. Carrol talked about the difficulties for women sharing a boat with men in draw torments like relieving yourself.

I believe Keri Glenn completes in a women’s bass tournament trail.

I feel bad that I can’t remember the names of some of women who competed successfully as pro bass anglers.

Tom

[king fisher]

I tried to get my wife interested in bass fishing, but I soon found she is way to smart to spend so much time, energy, and money trying to catch a fish that I plan on letting go.

[Team9nine]

Women were banned from fishing the Bassmaster professional trail all the way into the early 90s. Roland’s first wife, Mary Ann, once tried to enter a B.A.S.S. tournament, but Scott tore up the check, proclaiming that, “It’ll be a cold day in hell before a woman ever fishes one of my tournaments.” If the Feds hadn’t stepped in and forced the issue, there’s no telling when/if women would have eventually been allowed. Helen Sevier tried to open up the BASS trail to women a couple years prior when she owned the org. and was met with fierce opposition and protests, and eventually had to back down. It was pretty obvious the women weren’t welcome there (to compete). Ironically though, as I understand it, BASS still gladly accepted their membership checks during this time.

 

Women’s tours like Bass’n Gal were in their prime in the 80s, and I have no doubt a few of their top professional pros could have competed back then against the men if allowed. Many of the women had no desire to compete against the guys, but a few wanted to. Most women simply didn’t have enough time on the water to compete effectively, but anglers like Chris Houston (Jimmy’s wife), Linda England/Fredda Lee, and Burma Thomas had both the experience and the sponsorship backing to have made it work. Glenn just posted above a few others that were very competitive and successful in other local and regional circuits that did allow women. Another name you could add to that list was Elaine Vickers, who won the all-around individual title in the 1959 Texas State Bass Tournament, I believe the only woman to have done so in some 65+ years of competition.
 

Presently, given the format setup and the level of competition to try and grab the few available slots the major tours open up, I don’t see any women being able to qualify for the tour. I could possibly see the BPT selectively inviting someone based on their history of selecting who gets in. I don’t see it happening at all on the Bassmaster circuit since they moved to a 9 event qualifying process. Perhaps if they did similar to the past and created an exemption slot or two, similar to the legends exemption they still allow, or the old WBT exemption when BASS had a women's tour. Having a couple anglers like Kristine and Hilary (Scott Martin’s daughter) on tour would be a big industry and PR positive IMO.

 

 

[gim]

24 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Women were banned from fishing the Bassmaster professional trail all the way into the early 90s. Roland’s first wife, Mary Ann, once tried to enter a B.A.S.S. tournament, but Scott tore up the check, proclaiming that, “It’ll be a cold day in hell before a woman ever fishes one of my tournaments.”

That’s raw. It’s astonishing to me that would even occur. But I was just a kid at that time too. I had no idea there was such animosity towards it.

 

Quite honestly I find it to be shameful, low, and disrespectful too. Not that it matters 30 years after the fact though.

[TOXIC]

I’m a little biased because I have a personal friend who fishes the LBAA and has done very well.  Teri Cindric.  She’s fished with us on St Clair.  Her brother is the president of Penske Racing and her nephew is Austin a driver for team Penske.  She’s a good stick.  Locally Christie Bradley fishes the opens.

[JackstrawIII]

Thanks to all who have shared some of the history of ladies in pro fishing. Like most of history, it seems like a mixed bag. I'm glad to hear that some have found their way, but it sounds like we have further to go. Thanks for broadening my knowledge on the topic. 

[Zcoker]

Some women may have a genuine interest in fishing but sooner just shrug it off else move on to something else, like QVC lol My wife used to love fishing and fished with me all the time, even camping on the bridges in the Keys when going after big sharks. Now I couldn't even hand her a fishing rod. A select few may get very serious about bass fishing, serious enough to go on to the big league. Hats off to them! For the most, I think many women who bass fish could really care less. 

[Swamp Girl]

15 hours ago, gimruis said:

That’s raw. It’s astonishing to me that would even occur. But I was just a kid at that time too. I had no idea there was such animosity towards it.

 

Quite honestly I find it to be shameful, low, and disrespectful too. Not that it matters 30 years after the fact though.

 

Thanks, Gimruis. You are definitely not a he-man woman-hater like Spanky:

 

[Texas Flood]

I see and follow a lot of female anglers on Instagram. Even Bassmaster has the Bassmasther section on their website which is pretty cool.